The People First Party (PFP) yesterday denied reports that its chairman, James Soong (宋楚瑜), allegedly received kickbacks from a 1991 deal to purchase six Lafayette-class frigates and said that it would seek legal action against anyone who continues to spread such false reports.
Soong, and others, was listed in the “Suisse Secrets” investigation, under the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and was shown to have, at one point, a maximum balance of 13,677,418 Swiss francs (US$14,884,177 at the current exchange rate) in a Credit Suisse account, which was opened in 1993 and closed in 2010.
The description of the account reads: “The Kuomintang (KMT) took him to court claiming he embezzled millions of dollars of the party’s funds, though the charges were eventually dropped. Later, Soong was accused by a former French foreign minister of receiving kickbacks from a 1991 navy procurement deal, signed while he was secretary-general of the KMT.”
Photo: CNA
The PFP called claims that former French minister of foreign affairs Roland Dumas gave Soong money preposterous.
Similar claims had been made before and investigated, with nothing pointing back at Soong, it added.
The party said it had provided statements and proofs refuting the claims of “certain individuals who have decided to translate foreign articles” to accuse Soong.
The government should issue a statement on the Lafayette issue to clear Soong’s name, the PFP said.
The party will take legal action against any person or media corporation accusing Soong of embezzling state funds, or alleging that he was implicated in the Lafayette case, it added.
Speaking with reporters in Taipei last night following an event to celebrate Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, Soong denied involvement in the scandal.
He said the allegations had been fabricated by the KMT in the run-up to the election in 2000, in an effort to discredit him and his supporters.
Soong also denied knowledge of funds linked to him in the Credit Suisse leak.
Separately, asked whether Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), a PFP member, should make a statement, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he had asked Huang whether she would care to comment, but Huang said she was only a college senior at the time and would not know such things.
One should verify their source and ask those involved directly for comments, not those who have no connection with the case, Ko said.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS